How Technology Has Impacted the Currency Markets
- Written by News Feature Team
Technology has fundamentally changed our world. This fact is inarguable, and it’s a reality that we can see everywhere that we look. In today’s society, everything from dating to keeping in touch with friends, shopping, booking gym classes, and even ordering prescriptions can be done online, negating the need for human contact and improving efficiency across all sectors.
It’s little surprise, then, that the currency markets have not gone untouched. Like every other sphere of our society, they have been revolutionised by the developments and advances in technology, and the way that we trade has been transformed.
Here, we take a look at exactly what the advent and development of modern technology has done for the foreign exchange and those who trade it…
#1: Increased Speed
Today, sixteen microseconds is the average time it takes for a trade to be completed, meaning that from the moment you make your move to the instant when it is over and done, you do not even have time to blink. This may seem bewildering to comprehend, but its validity and impact are beyond question. You make a decision and the markets move, with not a second before your desires are made material. This means that not only is the data that you see truly contemporary, but you can now trade at a speed beyond the realm of human imaginings.
#2: Regulation
The advent of highly-developed technology has also made an impact on the regulation of currency trading. Where once it may have been possible to negotiate special deals between broker-dealers and third parties seeking unfettered access to the markets, there are now much more intricate and advanced risk control systems in existence. This means that the same regulatory rules and edicts apply to everybody, and that an electronic ‘audit trail’ exists to help identify anybody seeking to flout these. This has helped to limit certain trading behaviours, re-establishing the integrity of the markets, and ensuring that everyone is placed on an equal footing.
#3: Accessibility
For individual traders, one of the most visible changes to the world of forex trading is its increased accessibility. Where once people would have been limited to liaising directly with a broker, they can now trade from anywhere with an internet connection, even if they wish to do this on their smartphones. This has really helped to open the foreign exchange up to everybody, however busy their lives or demanding their other commitments. From trading on your daily commute to taking some time out to trade in your lunch break, you can access the markets from anywhere in the world, with nothing left to limit how, where, and when you choose to peruse the foreign exchange.
#4: Flexibility
This increased accessibility has also led to an improved flexibility, with traders not tied to the availability of their brokers or business hours. Although the thought of calling up a currency trading outfit at 2am may once have seemed absurd, all that’s now needed to trade around the clock is access to the internet and a desire to succeed. This means that whatever time it is in the world, all that you have to do is pull out your smartphone to trade according to your own time availability.
As the points above illustrate, the growth and refinement of technology have inarguably revolutionised the currency markets. Where once it seemed a pastime reserved for the elite and the time available, it has become any man’s pursuit, with all that’s needed to secure success being the desire to do well and access to a smartphone. And if we’ve seen this much change in the last decade, time alone will tell how greatly the landscape of the foreign exchange will have altered in another 10 years.